Capone in Chicago here. I know, I know: I traveled 8 million miles to attend Butt-Numb-a-Thon 2 and completely dropped the ball on filing a timely report. It's the holidays, dude. Running a bootlegging operation around the holidays is a bitch. Many heads need pulping, many asses need kicking. You know the routine...
I will say briefly that I loved all the film...except for SHOGUN ASSASSIN. It was the goriest Shogun movie I've ever seen, but in between all the spurting blood was some real boring shit. The two, big-time premieres, THE GIFT and SNATCH, were incredible. THE GIFT was probably the better film overall, but SNATCH blew me out the back of the theatre. The two indie premieres, DESTINATION MARS! and ED GEIN were also very good and highly appropriate. WONDER BAR has my jaw on the floor during the black-face extravaganza ending. Thanks for putting me and Chi-Town Charlie in the front row for one of the most memorable events ever. It was great meeting all of my fellow low-life contributors like Moriarity, Quint, and a dozen others. It was also the perfect chance to thank Cartoona for the amazingly life-like rendering of me that runs with my reviews. And what a great facility and staff the Alamo Drafthouse has. I can't wait to do this again next year. Alright, enough ass-kissing. On with the my review of THE HOUSE OF MIRTH
I confess that I have a soft spot for movies about people in love who can’t act on that love due to societal constraints and just way-too-polite manners. Films based on the works of Jane Austen, the Brontë sisters, or E.M. Forster, I’m all over them. I won’t read the books, but I’m first in line when they open. There haven’t been as many lately in this time of rediscovering cinematic Shakespeare. The last I can think of was MANSFIELD PARK; I could be wrong about that. But I’m pleased to report that not only is their a new period film in our midst (as of Christmas Day), but that it is exceptional.What I love so much about the works of Edith Wharton (THE AGE OF INNOCENCE, ETHAN FROME) is that unlike the other writers listed above, her stories tend not to end happily, at least not in the conventional sense. Like AGE OF INNOCENCE, this film is set in turn-of-the-century New York amongst the highest of high society.
Gillian Anderson is Lily Bart, a ravishing and unmarried socialite at the height of her power (over men, at least). Her only flaw is a penchant for gambling, and soon her debts put her in the most unwelcome position of having to borrow money from men (married and single) who expect repayment “in kind.” Rather than ruin her reputation, she promises to pay these men (in the form of Dan Aykroyd as the married Gus Tenor; don’t laugh, he’s good) back properly.The combination of being unmarried and extremely desirable turns out to be Lily’s undoing, as the married women in society begin to subtly shut her out of her class of friends. When Lily hints that she is aware that one of her closest “friends” Bertha (the remarkable Laura Linney from YOU CAN COUNT ON ME) is having an affair, Bertha retaliates by quietly, but quite publicly, embarrassing her at a dinner party. Bertha’s husband (Terry Kinney) knows the affair is happening but does not side with Lily because his wife has a better position among the group. It’s one of many such gut-wrenching scenes in THE HOUSE OF MIRTH, a mannered, evenly paced film that relies on behavior and tone to deliver its highly emotional message. The dialogue proves that wounds can be made with words.But the story isn’t about revenge. If anything it’s about the opposite of revenge, if such a thing exists. From very early on in the film, Lily acquires the means to save her status and her reputation, but refuses to do so because it would hurt the only man she loves, Lawrence Selden (Eric Stoltz). I must advise you because going to see THE HOUSE OF MIRTH that you have to forget everything you know about Gillian Anderson. Her performance here is transcendent, and 10 minutes into the film, you’ll forget all about Agent Dana Scully. She manages to be both strong and independent one minute, broken and weeping the next. I had no idea she was capable of a performance this astonishing. You can’t help but feel her pain at being cast out , going unnoticed by Selden, and being forced to work as a hat maker to support herself.Credit must also be given to director Terence Davies who has structured a loaded story with very little action into a moving tale of how people treat each other when reputations are on the line, when you call your worst enemies your friends. Davies is known for thoughtful and melancholy works (THE NEON BIBLE; DISTANT VOICES, STILL LIVES), but THE HOUSE OF MIRTH sets a new standard for brooding, sadness, and anguish. This may not be what some would consider the perfect holiday film, but I’ll see something this good any time of the year.
